There is a stark difference from celebrities and common people. Celebrities with their exposure and fame, are nearly always expected to be role models.

Tiger Woods built for himself a really squeaky clean image, and everyone believed in that. So you can imagine the type of role model hopes being placed on him. But now everything comes out in a bang, some people must be feeling especially betrayed and lied to, even if this shouldn’t be a surprise – nobody is perfect and Woods is a normal guy afterall.

But this is exactly how the celebrity world works – when you are famous and popular and all, everyone hails you. But once you suffer a fall from grace, the same everyone usually can’t wait to step all over you. Which is exactly what’s happening to Woods now.

He too, shouldn’t be surprised. He should have been prepared for such a day.

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Tiger Woods’s indiscretions will cascade through Golf Inc., costing the PGA Tour, television networks such as CBS and merchandise vendors like Nike Inc. $220 million or more in lost revenue.

Woods’s indefinite leave from the sport, announced Dec. 11 after he disclosed marital infidelity, deprives professional golf of its biggest draw. In his absence, tournament crowds may be 20 percent smaller, according to organizers.

Television audiences may shrink by half, based on Nielsen Co. data from past events. TV advertising may drop by as much as 40 percent, said Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiating officer at New York-based ad agency Horizon Media Inc. Nike, which built its golf equipment business around Woods, stands to lose more than $30 million in sales, according to Claire Gallacher, an analyst with San Diego-based Capstone Investments Inc.

“It’s not so much a ripple effect as it is a tsunami,” said Rick Gentile, a former CBS Sports executive producer who teaches at Seton Hall University. “The aura is gone.”

The PGA Tour received revenue of $773 million from tournaments and television in 2008, according to its annual report. In turn, broadcasters received $642.7 million in TV advertising revenue, according to New York-based TNS Media Intelligence. Should Woods sit out the entire year, ad spending will skid 30 percent to 40 percent, Cohen said in an interview.

Through October of this year, marketers spent $576.4 million to advertise on weekend golf broadcasts, according to TNS. New York-based CBS Corp. and General Electric Co.’s NBC had the largest exposure, the researcher said.

The 2010 PGA Tour season begins on Jan. 7 in Hawaii. Cohen’s estimate suggests ad losses may be at least $192 million if Woods is out all year. That, plus the potential damage to Nike, would put the effect at more than $220 million.

Woods Premium

Weekend television audiences sank by 47 percent to an average of 2.4 million viewers when Woods was out with a knee injury in 2008 and early 2009, according to data from Nielsen, the New York-based researcher. Excluding major tournaments, ad prices were 30 percent higher when he was present than when he wasn’t, according to TNS.

“There will be an audience for the sport after Tiger Woods,” Cohen said. “They’ll just be much smaller because he attracts a casual fan who otherwise may not tune in.”

The ad crunch will initially hurt broadcasters, then potentially affect the tour later when networks seek to renew television rights at lower prices, said Cohen.

Woods, ranked No. 1 for the past 4 1/2 years in the Official World Golf Ranking, has dominated golf since turning pro in 1996, earning a record $100.2 million in career prize money. His 14 major tournament wins are second to Jack Nicklaus, who had 18 as a professional.

Woods attracted sponsorships that helped lift prize money and feed the growth of professional golf. The industry pumped about $76 billion into the U.S. economy in 2005, a 22 percent increase from 2000, according to the most recent study commissioned by the U.S. PGA Tour, the PGA of America and U.S. Golf Association.

At tour events, ticket sales are typically 20 percent higher when Woods, 33, plays than when he doesn’t, according to tournament organizers. The PGA Tour, with 2008 total revenue of $981 million, runs merchandise booths that usually sell out of the Nike garb he wears for a given day. Before Tiger, sales totaled about $300 million, according to the tour.

‘Face of Nike Golf’

Woods has apologized and asked sponsors and fans for understanding in a Dec. 11 statement. “I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people,” he said. Woods’s agent, Mark Steinberg, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tiger’s absence may cost Nike 5 percent of its golf revenue, Gallacher said in an interview. That would represent about $32.4 million, based on Nike golf revenue of $648 million for the year ended in May. The company’s annual sales were $19.2 billion.

“He is the face of Nike golf,” Thomas Shaw, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore, said in an interview. “The longer he’s gone, it’s going to make it more difficult for them to initially appeal to people for their 2010 product line.”

Tour Impact

Nike sells Woods-branded hats, shirts, pants, sweaters, belts and shoes. The gear typically sells for about 25 percent more than similar Nike golf merchandise, Shaw said. The company developed its Victory Red golf clubs, referencing the red shirt Tiger wears on Sundays.

Beth Gast, a spokeswoman for Nike’s golf division, declined to comment beyond a statement of support for Woods the company issued on Dec. 11.

Nike fell 30 cents to $64.05 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and has climbed 26 percent this year. CBS added 22 cents to $14.27 and is up 74 percent year-to-date. GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, lost 6 cents to $15.69. P&G, based in Cincinnati, added 4 cents to $62.16.

Woods’s presence has helped prize money quadruple to almost $280 million in 2009 from $70 million in 1997, his first full professional season. He used his celebrity to stage charity tournaments such as this month’s Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California. In 2007, the tour raised $124 million for charity, up from $40 million in 1996.

‘Poker Game’

The effect of Woods’s hiatus will cut deeper the longer he’s out. Television contracts with New York-based CBS and NBC are due to expire in 2012, and renewal talks were likely to begin next year, said Gentile, who teaches sports management at Seton Hall in South Orange, New Jersey.

With Woods’s return uncertain, the networks will probably balk at paying rates similar to the ones they pay now, Gentile said.

“It’s like a poker game,” Gentile said. “If I’m the PGA Tour, I’m not so happy about the cards I’m holding right now.”

CBS, controlled by Chairman Sumner Redstone, declined to comment, said Shannon Jacobs, a company spokeswoman.

The network, which carries the Masters and the PGA Championship, pays about $200 million annually to broadcast PGA tournaments, according to Michael Morris, an analyst at UBS AG in New York.

‘Financial Hit’

NBC, set to be taken over by Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp., hosts the U.S. Open and non-majors including Woods’s Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship. Adam Freifeld, a spokesman for NBC Sports, declined to comment.

“CBS will take a financial hit,” Cohen said. “If Tiger is not there they won’t get the same price or get credit for the same audience levels.”

Prizes could also be affected, as eight U.S. tournament sponsor contracts expire after the 2010 season.

Of those eight, Woods typically plays in four: the WGC-CA Championship; the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley; the Deutsche Bank Championship, which benefits Woods’s charity foundation; and the Tour Championship presented by Coca- Cola Co.

The average purse for tournaments that make up Woods’s typical 18-event annual schedule, such as the Accenture Match Play Championship, is $7.3 million, about $2 million more than for tournaments he skips, such as the John Deere Classic.

‘Human Again’

The average sponsorship costs about $6 million, according to tournament organizers. Like TV networks, marketers are likely to be influenced by uncertainty regarding Woods, Gentile said.

As damaging as the personal revelations have been, Woods has solidified his impact on the game and within sports marketing, said Julie D. Lanzillo, president of InfoSport Inc., a Worcester, Pennsylvania-based sports marketing group.

“When he was still a rising phenomenon, I think the impact would have been far worse for the game, the PGA, the industry and sponsors,” Lanzillo said.

While Dublin-based Accenture and Gillette have dropped Woods from advertising campaigns, others including Nike and trading card company Upper Deck Co. have stood by the golfer.

That approach may pay off when Woods ultimately returns to the game, said Casey Alexander, who covers the golf industry for New York-based Guilford Securities Inc.

“The only story better than a God on Earth is a story about a failed God on Earth and watching him become human again,” Alexander said.

As for Tiger Woods, I hope his wife dumps him with 50% of his wealth and hope he will eventually lose all the sponsors as he deserves it.

Originally Posted by jiang bao

However, it is unnatural to mate with just one mate. Take a look at the animal kingdom, the dominant male gets loads of females. Humans are animals too. Yes, they set up marriages as a social bind, but biologically men still have urges to mate with as many as they can.

We are human, not animals in the jungle. We have moral values that animals don't.

Originally Posted by GuGu

almost every single thai guy i know cheat on their wife at least once. it's a thai thing.

Originally Posted by Mini T-Mac

he's half african so there ya go... its like they are suppose to have many different baby mommas. Alot of the african refugees i know where i volunteer/work cheat on their wives/gf.

Don't blame that on races. Being Thai and/or Black have nothing to do with cheating. These cheating individuals deseve to be lock in the pig trap in dump it into the river just like in ancient series just kidding.

Btw, he looks pretty old for his age. He's only a few yrs older than me but he looks much older. Must be all that partying and banging hos.

Jiang Bao, if he looks so much older than you then you either have very good gene and/or living a very healthy life style so that you look younger than your age. Tiger Woods is about 2 years older than me, but he looks way older as well due to my boring but healthy lifestyle. However, I don't think he looks older than his age. If you compare him to other athletes about his age, I would say he would stand out better than most of them. Here is his recent pictures. I think he looks good for his age.

he's half african so there ya go... its like they are suppose to have many different baby mommas. Alot of the african refugees i know where i volunteer/work cheat on their wives/gf.

Yeah, that's right..... just come to these boards and talk crap b/c you wouldn't dare say that in front of any African or Black person. You emulate black culture (calling yourself "T-Mac" and using terms like "baby mommas") but then take every opportunity to denigrate it when you can....pathetic and indicative of a lot of what I see on these boards, unfortunately.

Yeah, that's right..... just come to these boards and talk crap b/c you wouldn't dare say that in front of any African or Black person. You emulate black culture (calling yourself "T-Mac" and using terms like "baby mommas") but then take every opportunity to denigrate it when you can....pathetic and indicative of a lot of what I see on these boards, unfortunately.